Spices and herbs

Usually when I need a spice or herb that I don't use often it becomes a chore to find. I am space challenged and keep them on a shelf in a hallway pantry off the kitchen. One 2' x 2' shelf is dedicated to only that. I probably should go through them and weed out those that I have had for an extended period, but then they are kept closed and in a dark environment so I doubt that they lose their efficacy so easily. Another reason I don't is that they are so damned expensive! A few days ago I was looking through them needing some dried savory as an ingredient for a dry rub I was putting together. When I found I didn't have any, I went looking. I found some but a small 1/4 oz shaker bottle was almost $7 and I decided to look for less expensive herbs and spices. A couple days ago I went to a local international food store and decided to check for savory there. Lo! and Behold! many many herbs and spices that I had always considered to damned expensive at the local grocery store were on the shelf and were more than reasonable in price. a Two ounce baggie of savory leaves cost me the princely sum of $3, and a 7 ounce plastic bag of Garam Masala powder was $4. I have decided that I would inventory the little pantry shelf and replace all the stuff that I think is a year or more old . The savory leaf is from a company named Sadaf, and can be found at http://www.sadaf.com If anyone is interested in perusing. Yes, I am aware of and do order from Penzey's but this Sadaf has Penzey beat for price across the board. Not so sure yet about their quality, but I will try some and see.

Yep. Know exactly how you feel, Bobby. I discovered I could buy big bags of coriander, cumin, fenugreek etc. from our local Indian spice store for the same price or less than the tiny containers they sell at the supermarket. And they're much fresher! I think the trick is to pick stores that turn that particular spice over quickly - so I buy curry spices from the Indian store, and rigani from the Greek deli, and baharat, cumin and mint from the Lebanese/Egyptian wholesalers. Oh, and don't even get me started on how much cheaper vanilla pods are in some places compared with the supermarket!

To segue a little off your topic, we actually find we now go to the supermarket infrequently, and only to buy dry goods (clingfilm, cleaning products etc.). We buy nearly all our fruit and veg produce at the markets, meat from the butchers, and sliced meats and cheeses from the local deli. Two things led to this - we started baking our own bread, and we started buying UHT milk in bulk (which we drink, and Pete also uses to make greek yoghurt). Once you take milk and bread out of the equation, you remove the need to go to the supermarket on a regular basis.

Cheers, Celia

"C", I am not sure but I don't think I have ever seen UHT milk on the shelves at my local grocery store(s). Now that could be that I just haven't looked for it, or it could be that it is just not there. We only go through about 2 gallons of 2% milk per week, so it isn't like I need to run back often. Also, I can often find milk on sale for about $2.50 per gallon and always make sure I get it then. Confession time now. When I read your reply I honestly didn't know what UHT milk was until I googled for it. How long did it take for you and your family to get used to the changed flavor of UHT as opposed to pasteurized milk? I am sure that it would take me a while, especially for drinking as opposed to cooking. Which is more considered the norm there? UHT, or pasteurized?

Bob, pasteurized, ie. the milk you buy fresh from the fridge, is what most people use. We started buying UHT because we were skint, and it's much cheaper than fresh milk. We're so used to it now that no-one notices the difference anymore!

UHT is very common here in Aus, and I've also seen it a lot in Singapore, but I understand it's rare in the US. The reason it's usually cheaper is this - when they have a glut of milk, it gets processed as UHT milk. We love the convenience of having 40 litres of milk on hand at all times, and it's also a really easy way to make yoghurt (as you don't have to boil the milk, then bring it down to blood temp. etc.). The boys go through truckloads of milk (two litres a day at least), and we keep it in both full cream and skim. Oh, and it's all Australian milk, which is also nice.

I remember some other forumites commenting that they freeze milk when it's on sale - I actually find UHT more palatable than frozen and defrosted milk...

Celia

I frequently buy my herbs and spices at Mexican, Chinese or International stores. Incredibly cheaper.

Based on the slow cooker thread, I did pick up the spices I need to make the Indian curry dish today, which I will start in a few minutes.

Question though, I bought bags of the spices from the local Indian grocery. I will use a tiny bit of the bulk in the bags for this dish. There is way too much leftover to put into the containers that are leftover from when I bought spices in grocery stores. Tying off the bags seems inefficient and messy. How are people storing spices that they buy in bags?

ziplock bags or glass jars (jelly jar size)

I save glass jars cleaned in the dishwasher specifically for that reason. I use an affixed computer printing label to ID contents. And I tend to avoid ziplock bags; they aren't as airtight.

Greg, I know some people store them in the fridge or freezer - does anyone else do that? Like Larry and Linda, I use glass jars as well.

I buy my spices at local Indian and Chinese grocery stores. They're far cheaper and of better quality than the supermarket mass-market brands. It's also a lot easier to get whole spices there. I store them in glass jars or ziplock bags.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I save glass jars cleaned in the dishwasher specifically for that reason. I use an affixed computer printing label to ID contents. And I tend to avoid ziplock bags; they aren't as airtight.

Ditto--I never throw a good jar away.

Apropos of the coffee bean thread, storing spices is especially important for their aromatic qualities. I tend to buy them whole, as opposed to the ground stuff available in supermarkets, and store them in some glass bottles with ground glass stoppers that we rescued from a now-defunct pharmacy. Any well-sealed container ought to do the job, though. We also have an electric coffee grinder devoted to grinding spices (good thing, since I hate flavored coffees).

Mark Lipton